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Artscope Magazine | November/December 2024

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Exhibits

PERFECT TIMING: FREE SPEECH: ART AND ACTIVISM AT LEXART

// Artscope Online, Exhibits

by Madeleine Lord

The call for art for “Free Speech: Art and Activism,” on view through August 25 at the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society in Lexington, Massachusetts, invited artists who are “passionate about our National Dialog and create artwork that challenges norms, ignites conversation, and sheds light on diverse political narratives.” Juror Chenoa Baker, a frequent Artscope Magazine contributor, made the selections and awarded prizes. She has worked with many major regional institutions, including the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. Of her own artistic passions, she writes that “Materiality, visual research and ecologies of kinship shape her work.” In her statement about the exhibit as its juror, Baker wrote, “I love how craft is the media of dissent because it often goes under the radar in some circles but has a … [Read more...] about PERFECT TIMING: FREE SPEECH: ART AND ACTIVISM AT LEXART

ARMENIAN MUSEUM OF AMERICA’S “GANDZARAN!: NOTABLE SELECTIONS FROM OUR COLLECTION”

// Artscope Online, Exhibits

by Erica DeMatos

The Armenian Museum of America, located in Watertown, Massachusetts, not only contextualizes Armenia’s lengthy and turmoiled past, but it also presents a more contemporary view of Armenian people today. Treasures are unveiled in “Gandzaran! Notable Selections from our Collection”, threading generations of people together through modern interpretations of a shared culture. Shadows, carvings, etchings and textiles all permanently engrave the history of a displaced country onto a physical plain, memorializing the lives that were lost to a genocide. Melkon Hovhannisyan’s impressionistic paintings are earthy and moody, with vibrant colors that bleed into one another and subjects that are almost indistinguishable from their background. “The Walk,” 1995, is a momentary glimpse of two figures, faceless and limbless yet they still feel alive. It seems as though the two people are moving forward … [Read more...] about ARMENIAN MUSEUM OF AMERICA’S “GANDZARAN!: NOTABLE SELECTIONS FROM OUR COLLECTION”

CONTEMPORARY TAG AND SOUND PAINTINGS AT THE ART COMPLEX MUSEUM

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Celine LeDoux

The Art Complex Museum is a hidden gem tucked away off the winding streets of Duxbury, Massachusetts. Its striking, wave-like structure is nestled in a cornucopia of green that is impressive to all those who stumble upon it. The Art Complex houses the impressive collection of the Carl A. Weyerhaeuser family that includes paintings, sculptures, prints and furniture. Along with displaying this collection, they also prioritize contemporary art exhibits. Two of these impressive exhibits are on display now; “Aaron Norfolk: Audio-Visio” and “TAG: Contemporary Painters,” in which the artists were paired with the writings of local poets. Aaron Norfolk’s “Audio-Visio” exhibit focuses on the human form as well as his visual representation of sound. Inspired by the music surrounding him while he works, three of the pieces in this exhibit, “Nightsong,” “Echo” and “Empress I,” are dedicated to his … [Read more...] about CONTEMPORARY TAG AND SOUND PAINTINGS AT THE ART COMPLEX MUSEUM

HOPSCOTCH. CARE TO PLAY?

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Claudia Fiks

Curated by Marsha Nouritza Odabashian and Jennifer Jean Okumura, the artists of the ongoing “Hopscotch” exhibition take us back to familiar places bringing smiles, happiness and hope to our current daily lives. Traced back to 500 BCE in prehistoric India, prohibited by Buddha and played by Roman soldiers for building strength, this darling childhood game has been hopping geographically throughout centuries and is currently in the virtual realm. “Hopscotch” includes 10 contemporary artists confidently making their marks in various mediums: paper, oil on canvas, video, poetry and sculpture. The works claim collective and individual memory in relationship to places we choose to be grounded, either permanently or fleeting. It’s most recent showing at Lasell University’s Wedeman Gallery concluded on October 29; its curators are looking for new venues to host the collection of work. Guest … [Read more...] about HOPSCOTCH. CARE TO PLAY?

A FALL COLOR SPECTACULAR: HOWARD BARNES RETROSPECTIVE AT MILLER WHITE FINE ARTS

// Artscope Online, Exhibits

“The Colors of My Life: Paintings in the Washington Color School Tradition,” a comprehensive retrospective exhibition featuring works from the atelier of former MWFA artist Howard Barnes (1943-2020) is on view through October 28 at Miller White Fine Arts, 708 Route 134, South Dennis, Massachusetts. “Charles Beaudelaire once said, “Colourists are epic poets.” The elegance, warmth and introspection of Barnes’ artworks indeed underscore the truth of this statement. The Washington Color School, an art movement that emerged in Washington, D.C., and flourished in the 1960s, promoted a form of abstract art that developed from the Color Field movement of the 1950s, itself a response to the abstract expressionism of the New York School. “Styles of many of the prominent colorists in that movement, such as Ken Noland, Morris Louis and Helen Frankenthaler, are clearly referenced in Barnes’ earlier … [Read more...] about A FALL COLOR SPECTACULAR: HOWARD BARNES RETROSPECTIVE AT MILLER WHITE FINE ARTS

PHILIP GUSTON’S TRUE COLORS AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON

// Artscope Online, Exhibits, Visual Arts

by Elizabeth Michelman

In this era of re-examining our values in the face of increased social tensions and existential threat, Philip Guston’s sour yet exuberant late paintings promise to tell us who we are and what beliefs we must cling to in order to go on. Guston, a giant of 20th Century painting, scandalized the New York art world in 1970 by turning his back on the prevailing trend of pure abstraction. He embarked instead on an inspired journey creating politically-infused, tragic-pop canvases that exploited a wacky cartoon-style imagery. Although these works failed to sell in his lifetime, they changed the dialogue of painting. He stood by his vision, supporting his family by teaching at Boston University, and produced the bulk of his oeuvre in this new style until his death in 1980. The retrospective “Philip Guston Now” displays 100 works at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts through September 11. … [Read more...] about PHILIP GUSTON’S TRUE COLORS AT THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON